


Glowing in the Dark

by CryloRen



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling, Cute, F/M, Fluffy, Kissing, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-16 07:33:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5819734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryloRen/pseuds/CryloRen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the end, they were just two kids in love.</p><p>(I'm really bad at summaries, enter for mind-numbing fluff)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is basiclly an AU where Ben never went to the darkside because I love writing fluff more than I love breathing
> 
> The title is a Taylor Swift lyric don't judge me
> 
> Did I mention Ben is the biggest marshmallow in the galaxy?

The middle of the night, in her pitch black room, a floorboard creaked.

 

Floorboards never creak.

 

Every muscle in her body clenched, and he could sense it. 

 

“It's just me” she could hear the smile in his low, rumbling tone, and she immediately relaxed

 

“Dammit, Ben! You scared me half to death!” She sighed and rolled over, squinting into the dark in hopes of catching a glimpse of him. No such luck.

 

“Sorry! It's so dark in here I was trying to not trip over anything” he teased, now audibly closer to the bed

 

“What would you even trip over? You're the one with the messy bunk” she sat up and tugged down the edge of the blanket for him. His knees bumped the edge of the bed and Ben felt his way around before sliding into the narrow mattress with her. With his stature it was a tight enough fit to lay alone, and the bunks certainly weren't made to sleep two. But, they managed, as neither of them minded the close proximity. One of his arms slid under the pillow to create a bit more space while the other pulled her up against his chest

 

He smiled into the darkness and kissed what he assumed to be her forehead, “Hi there” 

 

“Hi” she mumbled into his nightshirt, rubbing her cheek affectionately on the soft material, “missed you today”

 

“Yeah, Uncle Luke had me in some weird specialized training” he said, almost sounding like an apology

 

“Uncle Luke” she giggled, “that’ll never stop being funny”

 

“That's what he is! It's what he’ll always be to me” he laughed in mock defensiveness while she shifted around to get more comfy. When she moved a soft wave of perfume came from her freshly washed hair and he shut his eyes, memorizing the scent and pairing it with her sleepy giggle, preserving it just in case.

 

“Wish I could see you” she said quietly, still hopelessly squinting and waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness

 

“Why?”

 

“So I can make fun of your big nose, silly” she stretched up and bumped his chin with the tip of her own nose, following a line up across his lips with it, “though maybe I don't need light to find it” she giggled again and pressed a chaste kiss to his mouth which he gladly returned. Kissing her felt like that first gasping breath after being underwater, it was like he could feel all of the odd, lingering doubt in his mind cleared away by the soft brush of her lips on his own.

 

After a few moments of only quiet breathing and the sound of lips meeting again and again, she pulled back suddenly, “you know that I love you, right?”

 

“Of course” he said with a light chuckle, “I believe you phrased it as ‘to the edge of the galaxy and back’”

 

“Good, I just.. I hope you know when I'm teasing.”

 

“You're always teasing” he countered, pressing another quick kiss to her warm mouth, “it's one of the reasons why I love you”

 

“One of? I thought that was it!”

 

“Oh, no no, of course not” he settled into a more comfortable position on his back with her more than a little draped across him, her head in the crook of his shoulder, “I mean, it is entirely endearing, but how could one not fall in love with your way of thinking? Your kind spirit, and your awful singing voice”

 

“You're just as bad!”

 

“Mm, yeah. Plus, you're not half bad to look at either” he teased, tickling her ribs 

 

“Jerk” she mumbled into his neck with a laugh, before pressing a soft kiss there

 

“That’s dangerous territory you're walking in, missy” the statement was half-groan, and she could feel him suppress a shiver beneath her. She would never not adore how sensitive his neck was, it left her in a constant state of wanting to bite it.

 

“I'm well aware” she said nonchalantly, pressing another kiss that had just the tiniest bit of suction

 

“Mmh, no marks” he gasped, pulling her away as gently as he could, “it's visiting day tomorrow”

 

“Oh god,  _ I forgot _ !” She dropped her head on his shoulder with a sigh 

 

He bit the inside of his lip, “Please don't tell me you're worried about meeting them”

 

“They're your parents, Ben! And not just any normal parents, Leia Organa and Han Freaking Solo! They're basically royalty!” She wished he could see the panicked expression on her face, but was simultaneously glad he didn't have to be exposed to something so unflattering.

 

“...actually mom is technically a princess..”

 

She let out an exasperated sigh and laid her head back on his shoulder, “Fine,  _ literally _ royalty! How could I not be nervous?”

 

“You're fine with Uncle Luke..”

 

“He’s my  _ teacher _ . There’s no social context between us at all. And that time he caught me in your room does  _ not _ count” she grumbled

 

“All right, I can maybe see why you’d be a tiny bit nervous,” he stroked the back of her head soothingly and she curled herself impossibly tighter into his embrace.

 

After a brief moment of silence, she said, in the tiniest voice in the galaxy, “what if they don't like me?”

 

“Well now you're just being ridiculous”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Y/N) is introduced to Ben's illustrious parents, and some not-so-good memories are brought up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really bad at writing Luke? Like he's not in character at all so please don't hate me I just don't know how to write him like at all.

“Stop fidgeting, you look perfect” he whispered, not bothering to look down at her

 

“You can't even see me from way up there!” She bumped him with her elbow and went to tug at her shirt again, he grabbed her hand to stop her, lacing their fingers together and giving her a tight squeeze, “for all you know I could have toothpaste all over my face or--”

 

“Here they come” he said, cutting her off with a sense of finality, she looked up as the first few families started filtering in, and there they were. Her stomach clenched and she tried to pull her hand away, but Ben held fast, beaming at his parents as they made their way over. He only dropped it to embrace first his mother, then his father, before his palm returned to grip her probably sweaty one. She hated feeling like this and used the brief moments they weren’t paying attention to her to will away her nervousness. If only.

 

“Mom, Dad.. this is (Y/N)” he said, by way of introduction. She gave them her best smile

 

“Hello” she hoped she sounded sincere and not at all like she wanted to hide behind Ben like a toddler, she hated the effect her own nerves were having on her, “it's wonderful to finally meet you” she said, going in for a handshake

 

“None of that,” Leia smiled, wrapping her in a hug, “not from the girl my son loves” it had been a long time since she’d been touched like that by anyone other than Ben, and she tried her best not to dwell on it.

 

“Oh!” (Y/N) laughed as she was traded off into Han’s arms, suddenly understanding why Ben was so tall, “I wasn't sure how much he’d told you, we tend to keep things a little quiet around here” she smiled as Ben slid his arm easily around her shoulders.

 

“Well, we try not to let anything interfere with training” he explained,

 

“That’s specifically evident when I find the two of you whispering in corners, or sneaking out of your rooms at night” Came a familiar voice from behind them, making her reflexively jump to attention

 

“Master Luke!” she gasped, confused by his smiling face

 

“You will find, padawan, that I am capable of a joke once in awhile. Besides, you two are the top of the class, it's not disrupting anything.. yet" He gave her the warmest smile she'd ever seen on her teacher's face, she'd never realized how much it suited him.

 

“Yes, sir” she said quietly, relaxing and sliding back into Ben’s embrace as Luke embraced his sister and friend

 

Ben leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Relax. Please? They love you.”

 

She nodded in response and turned her eyes back to the adults, who were just wrapping up their hellos.

 

“So, (y/n),” said Han, “any family of your own visiting today?”

 

She felt Ben tense up beside her, and knew she was probably doing the same. More than a few of their nights together he had spent comforting her on that subject. Her parents had been engineers on Geonosis, designing and helping to build the best battle droids in the galaxy. That was, until the first order had decided to raid the planet, (Y/N) was only four at the time. She and her older sister were well hidden away, but when it was all over they were left alone on the harsh desert planet. She could barely remember the attack now, but the loss of her parents still lingered painfully on the edges of her mind. It also wasn't helped when she recived news of her sister barely a year before, informing her that she had died in an accident trying to continue their parent's work.

 

“No, Sir, I'm afraid not” she said quietly, trying to keep her expression as even as possible, “They’re, um.. not around”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry” Han looked uncomfortable, turning to Leia for support

 

“It’s really not a big deal, it was a long time ago” She offered a small smile and felt Ben rubbing her back soothingly, up and down along her spine, just as he knew to.

 

“Why don’t we get lunch?” Ben tried, diffusing some of the awkwardness

 

“Excellent idea” Luke agreed, taking his sister’s arm to lead the way.

 

“I’m sorry” Ben whispered to her again as they began the walk to the mess hall, “I completely forgot to tell them, I feel like an ass”

  
She hugged him closer into her side, “It’s fine, really”

It was almost not a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for that bit t be so angsty..
> 
> I'm sorry my chapters aren't very long, but it's the only way I can keep my exceedingly short attention span on them! I really don't want to drop this story, it's happened to me too many times before so I'm gonna try to be slow and steady.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh this is so short I'm sorry! This is a lot of filler. But I saw Star Wars again last night so hopefully I'll be reinvigorated in terms of my writing.

  
“Wasn’t too bad, was it?” He asked as they watched his parents climb into their ship, “Other than…”

“Ben, really, it wasn’t that big a deal” She sighed gently and rested her head against him, “can we please drop it?”

“You’re sure you’re okay? It wasn’t that long ago”

“I’m really okay, promise” (Y/N) waved even though she knew they couldn’t see her

“Okay, good” he nodded, “Can you, uh… move to my other shoulder? You caught me pretty good earlier” Part of showing the families what they had been learning was to spar in pairs out on the training floor. While Ben certainly had the advantage in height and weight, (Y/N) was quick on her feet and her surprising strength proved it’s worth as she pinned him after only a few moments of fighting. She was sure that he had let her win, but he continued to insist the contrary all through dinner.

“Oh, you poor thing” she chuckled and kissed his shoulder before moving to the other side.

The two of them watched the sun setting across the green ridge of mountains for a few more moments, not caring which of their fellow students saw them embracing in the warm orange light.

“I think my parents really liked you” he said quietly, smiling down at her. (YN) raised her eyes to him, already smiling

“Yeah? I wasn’t sure..”

“Mom’s a little weird I know, and Dad.. He’s a little weird too..” Ben laughed

“Suddenly everything about you made so much sense.” She laughed too, enjoying the feeling of his broad torso shaking beside her, “I feel like I understand you better now”

“Did you not understand me before?”

“Of course, but there were things I didn’t know that I didn’t understand. And now I do” she explained.

“Feel like sharing?”

“Mm…nah” she shrugged nonchalantly, “let's head in, it gets chilly after dark”

Not even bothering with a pretense of going to his bunk first, Ben and (Y/N) said their goodnights to everyone else and headed off to her room.

“I think I'm gonna shower,” she said with a stretch once they reached the room, he was already perched on the edge of the bed, picking up where he had left off in a book a few nights before. He didn't notice the meaningful look she was trying to give him.

“Sounds good” he nodded, not bothering to look up

“Ben” she sighed a little stepping over to him and lifting the book from his grasp, “I think you're gonna shower with me”

“Sounds even better”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I don't get too embarrassed maybe I'll up the rating and write some smut in the next chapter. Idk, I haven't written anything but Johnlock in a long time so writing het sex is difficult for me now? I'll think about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a wrap up, not much to it except for a tiny bit of not-quite smut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna be honest and say I’m not super happy with this how this story is going, which is why I’m ending it. But I may write some one shots in the same verse. Thanks for reading everyone!

Ben woke, several mornings later, alone and slightly disoriented from his most recent dream. Well, nightmare. But he wasn’t planning on admitting that to himself yet. 

 

“(Y/N)?” he called, barely opening his eyes as he rubbed the remnants of sleep from them

 

“Right here, sleepyhead” she hummed from her chair just across the small room, he gave her a tired smile, noticing her choice of attire

 

“That's definitely my shirt, missy” he mumbled, voice low and gravelly from sleep

 

“What are you gonna do about it?” She teased, sipping from the mug of something that was probably juice sat on the table next to her.

 

“Ehh,” he reached out one slightly tingly arm and waved it at her, “not much without getting up. What are you doing up anyway, you're never out of bed on days off”

 

“Just working on a little project” she shrugged, slipping the book from her lap back onto the shelf before making her way back to the bed and Ben’s cozy embrace.

  
  


“How did you sleep?” He asked, after she was once again settled in his arms

 

“Mm, very well” she said with what was nearly a yawn as she rubbed her cheek against him, letting her eyes slide shut, “maybe not done yet..”

 

He yawned too, “I agree. What time even is it?”

 

“Like sixish,” she shrugged, curling up in his warm hold and reminding him of a cat in a patch of sunlight.

 

“Silly girl,” he hummed, “you barely slept”

 

“Not my fault, someone wouldn't stop grumbling and wiggling around in his sleep!” She yawned, poking his firm stomach

 

“Sorry about that” he whispered, rubbing her back gently

 

“It's all right” she nuzzled into his neck, going for her favorite weak spot of his with a giggle, “were you dreaming of me?” Her tone jokingly dipped lower while the hand that had been playing at his side followed suit. She was wrong this time, but she’d been right about it in the past

 

“Maybe” it wasn't quite a lie, she  _ had _ been in the dream, but not at all in the way she was currently suggesting.

 

“Feel like sharing?” She pressed closer, mimicking the phrase he often used on her. 

 

“I.. (Y/N)..” He sighed, “we’ve had this discussion” denying her always made his heart ache. But it had been a contingency of their relationship enforced by Luke since the beginning. They could share their hearts, share a bed even but no more. At least until training was complete,  _ preferably _ until marriage. The thought made his stomach twist with an odd, nervous excitement. He was never sure if it was from the prospect of getting to bind himself to (Y/N) eternally or what would inevitably come the night after. Probably both.

 

Of course they had found a few loopholes. The first time nearly by accident after he had had a particularly vivid dream and woke to find her sitting up and giggling at his frustrated state before hushing his apologies with a soft kiss and, well, taking matters into her own hands, so to speak.

 

He returned the favor not two nights later, when an innocent kiss sat on the edge of his bed ended with her astride one of his muscled thighs, still fully dressed as he guided her hips to rut against him until she finished, quaking in his embrace.

 

Since then, they had gone on to discover other ways to not-quite-have-sex. But still every once in awhile she found herself growing insecure on a sleepless night. Worrying that she wasn't satisfying him despite the fact that it was his steely resolve keeping their integrity so intact. She thanked all the stars in the sky that his moments of weakness were so few and far between.

 

“I know.. Sorry” she sighed, dropping her hands and rolling over to face away from him so as to curl in on the wad of guilt settling itself in her stomach.

 

“Hey now, who said you could hide from me?”

He said, hoping his tone was light enough to raise her spirits as he tugged her back against his chest, “you get back here” it was half a grumble, half a laugh as he cuddled into her and rubbed his cheek against hers. She didn't stop him, but he could tell she was still resisting a little, “(Y/N)? Please don't be sad. You know it's for good reason”

 

She nodded, knowing tears were already brimming as she was overwhelmed, as usual, by his kindness and patience with her, “I know” she whispered, trying not to sound too croaky, “I just… I don't want you to get bored with me”

 

She felt his frame stiffen around her, and worry coursed through her, that had probably not been the best way to put it.

 

“How could you think that?” He asked, surprising her with his concerned tone, she thought he might have taken offense or be angry, “(Y/N) look at me,” he reached to gently turn her face to his, her tears visible even in the low light. Ben brushed them away with his thumb, “I know this is difficult for you, believe it or not it is for me too. But never,  _ ever _ think for a second that I don't want you too, okay?”

 

She sniffed a little and gave a nod, “I'm--”

  
“Nope,” he hushed her with a finger to her lips, which he then replaced with his own, “no more apologizing for it.” She opened her mouth to speak again, “and please don't apologize for apologizing” he laughed, and she did too. They lay there together in the half-light, pressing sleepy kisses to cheeks and lips and knowing they belonged wholly to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone has any requests, feel free to message me at smollestkylo.tumblr.com ! Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> For once in my life I actually have a second chapter ready to go, so if you guys like this let me know and I'll post it! Thanks for reading!


End file.
